Automobile.



No. 707,230. Patented Aug. l9, I902. J. C. HENRY, Deod.

S. A. HENRY, Executrix.

AUTOMOBILE.

(Application filed Apr. 1, 1901;)

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN C. HENRY, OF DENVER, COLORADO; SUSIE A. HENRY, EXECUTRIX OF SAIDJOHN C. HENRY, DECEASED, ASSIGNOR TO STANLEY ELECTRIC MANUFACTURINGCOMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEIV JERSEY.

AUTOMOBILE.

BPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 707,230, dated August19, 1902.

Application filed April 1, 1901.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN C. HENRY, a citizen of the UnitedStates,-residing in the city of Denver, county of Arapahoe, and State ofColorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inAutomobiles, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to automatic vehicles, and is of the mixed orcombination class, hav- IO ing various forms of power to operate it.

The invention will be described in an application where both electricand steam power are used to propel the vehicle.

The invention is intended to supply a want felt in vehicles, so as toincrease their range of work.

For ordinary purposes, such as city work, an electric automobile is themost suitable, as it can readily be run by children or ladies who havebut little knowledge of machinery, and it emits no vapor, which isobjectionable in congested districts. The steam or gas motor has theadvantage that it need not depend on fixed stations for its supply ofenergy,

2 5 gasolene, which is usually the material used for combustion in thevarious kinds of vehicles, being obtainable in any community.

The purpose of the invention is to provide a vehicle which may be runwith an electric motor or steam power, or by both, and where thesteam-engine may be used to drive the motor as a generator for thepurpose of charging the battery thereon.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a plan of the combined mechanismnecessary for the purpose. Fig. l is a side elevation ofv a brake-clutchfor arresting one of the motors. Fig. 2 is a section, and Fig. 3 anelevation, of the transmitting-gear. Fig. at is a development of thecontroller, and Fig. 5 shows diagrammatically the several circuitconditions established by the controller.

IV represents the driven wheel of an automobile, S a divided axle, and Gan epicyclic or planetary gear, which maybe of any wellknowndifferential pattern which would permit the wheels to be drivenindependently of each other.

F represents a spur-gear loosely mounted on Serial No. 53,998. (Nomodel.)

the divided axle, it being connected to the housing C within which thepinions K and K have bearings, and they are secured to the shaft KOrdinarily these pinions do not turn on their own axes, but revolve in aplanettary manner with the spur-gear F. \Vhen, however, the drivenwheels run unequally,

as when the vehicle is turning a curve, for instance, the pinions turnon their own axes as well as planetary, thus compensating for variationsin the travel of the separate driven wheels.

Erepresentsasteam-engine. Mrepresents the armature of anelectric motor,while A represents theintermediatemechanism,which is shown in section,it being a planetary or differential form of gearing used to couple theengine and motor with the vehicle. This gearing is shown partially insection in Fig.

2 and in sectional elevation in Fig. In Fig. 1, C, C, and C representfriction-wheels, for which manually-operated clutches or trio--tion-clutches are provided, like that shown in Fig. 1. It will beunderstood that these members and their connecting mechanism may be heldfast or loosened by clutches. I will describe the operation as if themachines were of the standard kindi. e., an automobile revolving at onethousand revolutions per minute or a steam-engine designed to run at aspeed of two hundred and fifty strokes per minute.

Suppose we wish to drive the vehicle by the electric motor.- Thesteam-engine is held by the clutch C. This holds the member Bstationary. It will be noticed in Figs. 1 and 2 that the pinions D havebearings and revolve on pins which are secured to the member 13 referredto, so that when the engine is held the pinions are permitted to turn ontheir own axes only. The intermediate pinion B is keyed fast to thearmature-shaft. Thus by holding the engine the armature in revolvingturns the pinions on their own axes and revolves the combined internaland external gear, which they engage, but at a reduced 5 speed. Theinternal gear has teeth out on its periphery which engage with the teethof the spur-gear F, mounted on the vehicle-axle and driving thevehicle-wheels at a speed reduction of ten to one, which about agreeswith a favorable vehicle practice. When it is desired to drive thevehicle from the engine alone, the armature is held by clutch O and thecircuit opened. The engine E then drives the member B and carries thepinions D around in a planetary manner. They by abutting against thestationary pinion- (central) carry the internal gear around with them.This in turn drives the axle-gear at a speed of about one hundredrevolutions per minute or at the same speed as the motor drives it. Ifthe clutches O and O are loose, the engines and motors are both free torun. Should they, however, run at a predetermined speed-that is, theengine at two hundred and fifty strokes and the armature at one thousandrevolutions-the pinions B and D will revolve, only the latter travelingaround within the internal gear. There will be no tendency to drive it.If, however, the speed relation between the engine and the motor isvaried, as by decreasing or increasing the speed of either the motor orengine separately or as by decreasing the speed of one of thepower-transmitting machines and increasing the speed of the other, theyboth tend to drive the vehicle at a slow speed, but with a difierentialmovement-that is, with leverage and great torque. The speed of thevehicle may be further increased by changing the difierence of speedbetween the motor and engine. The direction of the vehicle also dependsupon the relative speed of the motor-engine, so that when running withthe differential movement both the speed and the direction may becontrolled by independently varying the speed of the power members. Ondescending grades or when coming to a stop the engine is held and thevehicle allowed to drive the motor as a generator and to store up itsenergy of momentum or gravity into the battery. To accomplish this, Iarrange to gradually maintain a constant potential on the battery as thevehicle speed decreases. This I accomplish by a novel method of varyingthe field resistance, as shown in the diagram. To further illustrate,with motor running at a speed of a thousand per minute and the engine attwo hundred and fifty the vehicle is stationary. With the motor runningat twelve hundred per minute and the engine at two hundred and fifty thevehicles speed will be due to the difference, which, say, corresponds totwo miles per hour. By making a still greater change the vehicles speedis correspondingly increased and the leverage decreased. It will beunderstood that the engines speed and that of the motor are regulatedindependently. It will be also understood that the vehicle is of theelectric-automobile class and one which derives its current from abattery thereon. The motor is of the shunt-wound orindependently-excited kind which is free to act as a generator or motor.

The battery is represented by O, and the motor-controller at P Q. Fig. 4represents a development of the controller, and diagrams 1 to 4, Fig. 5,inclusive, show the course of the current in the different positions. Itwill readily be seen that the speed of the motor and its voltage as agenerator may be changed so as to retard the vehicle.

S represents an operating-screw for the clutch O.

S represents a lever adapted to hold either oneof the clutches or torelease both of them, as the work may require.

To charge the storage battery, clutch C is tightened and thevehicle-wheels held stationary. The steam-engine is then started andmade to drive the motor as a generator, the current generated beingabsorbed by the battery. The motor may be regulated in any well-knownregenerative manner, the point being to insure its working as a dynamoand charging the battery when the vehicle is descending a grade or beingstopped. The clutch (3 may be dispensed with and the vehicle held byother well-known means.

The combination may be used on railways where steam is objectionable inthe congested districts, but permissible in'the suburbs.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as newtherein and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In combination with an electric motor and a pressure-operated motor,a planetary gear intermediate and connected to said mo tors, and to adevice to be driven, and clutch devices arranged so that any one of saidmotors may be held stationary for the purpose set forth.

2. In a motor-vehicle, the combination of a planetary gear connected todrive the vehicle, a fluid-pressure motor and an electric motorconnected respectively to different parts of said gear all arranged sothat either of said motors may drive the vehicle independently.

3. In a motor-vehicle, the combination of a planetary gear connected todrive the vehicle, a fluid-pressure motor and an electric motorconnected respectively to different parts of said gear, and clutchingmeans for arresting either of said gear parts all arranged so thateitherorboth of said motors may drive the vehicle.

4C. The combination of an electric motor and an engine, a planetary gearconnecting said parts to one another and to a device to be driven,meansfor clutching either one of these parts so as to arrest either of themotors or the driven part, and a storage battery con nected to the motorso as to be charged by the same as a dynamo, when the driven part isarrested.

5. In a motor-vehicle, the combination of a planetary gear connected todrive the vehicle, an electric motor, and a pressure-engine connectedwith diiferent parts of said gear, clutches adapted to arrest either ofsaid gear parts, means for arresting the motion of the romeovehicle-driving mechanism is connected, and clutches arranged to arrestthe movement of the central pinion, planetary gear or the driv- I5ing-gear of the vehicle.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this 6th dayof March, 1901, in the presence of two Witnesses.

JNO. c. HENRY. [n s.]

Witnesses:

CABLE WHITEHEAD, II. DUDLEY TUPPER.

